Friends laugh when we walk together and say things like, “Carol, did you just take a picture of a dumpster?” and I’ll laugh because my answer is “yes”. The weather created by the Columbia River meeting the Pacific Ocean can be relentless and brutal, creating an opportunity for an exquisite patina to emerge.
Things also look weathered because Astoria has been here a very long time. It was founded in 1811 as the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. What survives here is rugged.
There are parts of Astoria that are picture-postcard perfect. But I’m drawn to the authenticity of the aging and weathering happening here; it has its own beauty apart from the new and pristine. In my daily wanderings I notice and appreciate the Wabi Sabi, the perfectly-imperfect.
Here are glimpses into the beautiful patina of an historic town.
